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==Themes== ==Themes==
The novel is based on the crimes of ], also known as the Rostov Ripper, who was convicted of and executed for 52 murders in the Soviet Union. In addition to highlighting the problem of Soviet-era criminality in a state where "there is no crime", the novel also explores the paranoia of the age, the education system, the secret police apparatus, ]s, ], and ]s. This novel, the first in a trilogy, is based on the crimes of ], also known as the Rostov Ripper, who was convicted of and executed for 52 murders in the Soviet Union. In addition to highlighting the problem of Soviet-era criminality in a state where "there is no crime", the novel explores the paranoia of the age, the education system, the secret police apparatus, ]s, ], and ]s.


The book is the first part of a trilogy. The second part is called '']'' and also features the character of Leo Demidov and his wife, Raisa. The third part, called '']'', was published by Simon and Schuster in the UK in July 2011.<ref>{{cite web|last=Rob |first=Tom |url=http://www.curtisbrown.co.uk/tom-rob-smith/agent-6 |title=Agent 6 |publisher=Curtisbrown.co.uk |date= |accessdate=2012-02-27}}</ref> It was published in the US in January 2012.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.amazon.com/Agent-6-Tom-Rob-Smith/dp/0446550760/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1337282933&sr=8-1|title=Child 44| publisher = ]}}</ref> The second book in the trilogy, called ''],'' also features the character Leo Demidov and his wife, Raisa. The third book, called '']'', was published by Simon and Schuster in the UK in July 2011 and in the US in January 2012.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.amazon.com/Agent-6-Tom-Rob-Smith/dp/0446550760/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1337282933&sr=8-1|title=Child 44| publisher = ]}}</ref>


==Awards== ==Awards==
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==Reception== ==Reception==
'']'' called it a "tightly woven", "ingeniously plotted", "high-voltage story".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/08/books/08maslin.html |title=Forget It, Comrade. This Is Moscow. |work=] |date=May 8, 2008 | first=Janet |last=Maslin}}</ref> '']'' praised it as a "memorable debut": "the atmosphere of paranoia and paralysing fear is brilliantly portrayed and unremittingly grim".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/fictionreviews/3671713/A-crime-that-officially-doesnt-exist.html |title=A crime that officially doesn't exist |first=Susanna |last=Yager |work=The Sunday Telegraph |date=March 9, 2008 |location=London}}</ref> '']'' gave it a starred review, calling it "smashing"; "nerve-wracking pace and atmosphere camouflage wild coincidences".<ref>{{cite web|last=Eastland |first=Sam |url=http://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/fiction/tom-rob-smith/child-44/ |title=CHILD 44 by Tom Rob Smith &#124; Kirkus Book Reviews |publisher=Kirkusreviews.com |date= |accessdate=2012-02-27}}</ref> In an '']'' review, Peter Guttridge praised it as a "thrilling, intense piece of fiction".<ref>{{cite news|author=Peter Guttridge |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/mar/02/crimebooks.features |title=Interview: Tom Rob Smith |work=The Observer |date=2 March 2008 |accessdate=2012-02-27 |location=London}}</ref> It was also called "an adequate police procedural" by another ''New York Times'' reviewer,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/13/books/review/book-review-mr-chartwell-by-rebecca-hunt.html |title=Churchill, Depression and a Talking Dog |work=] |date=March 13, 2011 | first=Tadzio |last=Koelb}}</ref> and a review of the paperback edition in ''The Guardian'' said that "the story is exciting, but the characters and dialogue are underdeveloped, and the prose studiously bland".<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/feb/28/child-44-review?INTCMP=SRCH | work=The Guardian | first=Tadzio | last=Koelb | title=Review: Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith | date=28 February 2009 |location=London}}</ref> This view was mirrored by a further review for ''The Guardian'', by Angus Macqueen, who stated that while "this is a compelling detective story", he eventually found that "the desire for the plot to encompass every element of Soviet history eventually overrides any sense of artistic seriousness". Macqueen did state that the novel "remains a real achievement" and that it delivers "all the pleasures of a brilliant airport read".<ref>{{cite news |author=Angus Macqueen |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/apr/12/featuresreviews.guardianreview29 |title=Review: Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith |work=The Guardian |date= 2008-04-12|accessdate=2012-02-27 |location=London}}</ref> '']'' called <nowiki>''Child 44''</nowiki> a "tightly woven", "ingeniously plotted", "high-voltage story".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/08/books/08maslin.html |title=Forget It, Comrade. This Is Moscow. |work=] |date=May 8, 2008 | first=Janet |last=Maslin}}</ref> '']'' praised it as a "memorable debut": "the atmosphere of paranoia and paralysing fear is brilliantly portrayed and unremittingly grim".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/fictionreviews/3671713/A-crime-that-officially-doesnt-exist.html |title=A crime that officially doesn't exist |first=Susanna |last=Yager |work=The Sunday Telegraph |date=March 9, 2008 |location=London}}</ref> '']'' gave it a starred review, calling it "smashing"; "nerve-wracking pace and atmosphere camouflage wild coincidences".<ref>{{cite web|last=Eastland |first=Sam |url=http://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/fiction/tom-rob-smith/child-44/ |title=CHILD 44 by Tom Rob Smith &#124; Kirkus Book Reviews |publisher=Kirkusreviews.com |date= |accessdate=2012-02-27}}</ref> In an '']'' review, Peter Guttridge praised it as a "thrilling, intense piece of fiction".<ref>{{cite news|author=Peter Guttridge |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/mar/02/crimebooks.features |title=Interview: Tom Rob Smith |work=The Observer |date=2 March 2008 |accessdate=2012-02-27 |location=London}}</ref> It was also called "an adequate police procedural" by another ''New York Times'' reviewer,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/13/books/review/book-review-mr-chartwell-by-rebecca-hunt.html |title=Churchill, Depression and a Talking Dog |work=] |date=March 13, 2011 | first=Tadzio |last=Koelb}}</ref> and a review of the paperback edition in ''The Guardian'' said that "the story is exciting, but the characters and dialogue are underdeveloped, and the prose studiously bland".<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/feb/28/child-44-review?INTCMP=SRCH | work=The Guardian | first=Tadzio | last=Koelb | title=Review: Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith | date=28 February 2009 |location=London}}</ref> This view was mirrored by a further review for ''The Guardian'', by Angus Macqueen, who stated that while "this is a compelling detective story", he eventually found that "the desire for the plot to encompass every element of Soviet history eventually overrides any sense of artistic seriousness". Macqueen did state that the novel "remains a real achievement" and that it delivers "all the pleasures of a brilliant airport read".<ref>{{cite news |author=Angus Macqueen |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/apr/12/featuresreviews.guardianreview29 |title=Review: Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith |work=The Guardian |date= 2008-04-12|accessdate=2012-02-27 |location=London}}</ref>


==Film adaptation== ==Film adaptation==
{{main|Child 44 (film)}} {{main|Child 44 (film)}}
A film based on the novel was announced in 2009, with ] attached as director.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.themovieinsider.com/m4045/child-44-/ |title=Child 44 Movie |publisher=Themovieinsider.com |date=2007-05-07 |accessdate=2012-02-27}}</ref> Plans have now changed and it is now to be directed by Swedish director ], of ] fame and produced by ] and his longtime production collaborator ] via ]. English actors ] and ] as well as Swedish actress ] had been in negotiations to star<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/tom-hardy-noomi-rapace-talks-416832 | work=The Hollywood Reporter | first=Borys | last=Kit | title=Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace in Talks for 'Child 44'}}</ref> before they were confirmed.<ref>http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1014763/</ref> The filming takes place in the ], locations being in ], ], and ].<ref>{{cite web|last=Opatrná|first=Anežka|title=Ridley Scott dobývá Prahu!|url=http://www.studentpoint.cz/52-film/11323-ridley-scott-dobyva-prahu|work=Student Point|accessdate=29 August 2013|language=cs|quote=a tak bude od 10.6. do 20.9. v Praze, Ostravě nebo v Barrandovském studiu probíhat natáčení amerického velkofilmu.}}</ref> A film based on the novel was announced in 2009, with ] attached as director.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.themovieinsider.com/m4045/child-44-/ |title=Child 44 Movie |publisher=Themovieinsider.com |date=2007-05-07 |accessdate=2012-02-27}}</ref> Plans have changed; it is now to be directed by Swedish director ], of ] fame, and produced by ] and his longtime production collaborator ] via ]. English actors ] and ] as well as Swedish actress ] had been in negotiations to star<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/tom-hardy-noomi-rapace-talks-416832 | work=The Hollywood Reporter | first=Borys | last=Kit | title=Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace in Talks for 'Child 44'}}</ref> before they were confirmed.<ref>http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1014763/</ref> The filming takes place in the ], in ], ], and ].<ref>{{cite web|last=Opatrná|first=Anežka|title=Ridley Scott dobývá Prahu!|url=http://www.studentpoint.cz/52-film/11323-ridley-scott-dobyva-prahu|work=Student Point|accessdate=29 August 2013|language=cs|quote=a tak bude od 10.6. do 20.9. v Praze, Ostravě nebo v Barrandovském studiu probíhat natáčení amerického velkofilmu.}}</ref>


==References== ==References==

Revision as of 10:01, 8 December 2014

This article is about the novel. For the film adaptation, see Child 44 (film).
Child 44
1st US edition
AuthorTom Rob Smith
LanguageEnglish
GenreThriller
Publication date2008
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Media typePrint (hardcover and paperback)
Pages400
ISBN1-84737-126-4
Followed byThe Secret Speech 

Child 44 is a thriller novel by British writer Tom Rob Smith, and features disgraced MGB Agent Leo Demidov, who investigates a series of gruesome child murders in Joseph Stalin's Soviet Union.

Themes

This novel, the first in a trilogy, is based on the crimes of Andrei Chikatilo, also known as the Rostov Ripper, who was convicted of and executed for 52 murders in the Soviet Union. In addition to highlighting the problem of Soviet-era criminality in a state where "there is no crime", the novel explores the paranoia of the age, the education system, the secret police apparatus, orphanages, homosexuality in the USSR, and mental hospitals.

The second book in the trilogy, called The Secret Speech, also features the character Leo Demidov and his wife, Raisa. The third book, called Agent 6, was published by Simon and Schuster in the UK in July 2011 and in the US in January 2012.

Awards

Child 44 has been nominated for 17 international awards and was the winner of seven. It was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize and was the winner of the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger award in 2008. Child 44 was on the Richard and Judy "Book of the Decade" list and won the Waverton Good Read Award in 2009. It was also shortlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize for a first novel in 2008. Smith was awarded the 2008 Galaxy Book Award for Best New Writer.

Reception

The New York Times called ''Child 44'' a "tightly woven", "ingeniously plotted", "high-voltage story". The Sunday Telegraph praised it as a "memorable debut": "the atmosphere of paranoia and paralysing fear is brilliantly portrayed and unremittingly grim". Kirkus Reviews gave it a starred review, calling it "smashing"; "nerve-wracking pace and atmosphere camouflage wild coincidences". In an Observer review, Peter Guttridge praised it as a "thrilling, intense piece of fiction". It was also called "an adequate police procedural" by another New York Times reviewer, and a review of the paperback edition in The Guardian said that "the story is exciting, but the characters and dialogue are underdeveloped, and the prose studiously bland". This view was mirrored by a further review for The Guardian, by Angus Macqueen, who stated that while "this is a compelling detective story", he eventually found that "the desire for the plot to encompass every element of Soviet history eventually overrides any sense of artistic seriousness". Macqueen did state that the novel "remains a real achievement" and that it delivers "all the pleasures of a brilliant airport read".

Film adaptation

Main article: Child 44 (film)

A film based on the novel was announced in 2009, with Ridley Scott attached as director. Plans have changed; it is now to be directed by Swedish director Daniel Espinosa, of Safe House fame, and produced by Ridley Scott and his longtime production collaborator Michael Costigan via Scott Free Productions. English actors Gary Oldman and Tom Hardy as well as Swedish actress Noomi Rapace had been in negotiations to star before they were confirmed. The filming takes place in the Czech Republic, in Prague, Kladno, and Ostrava.

References

  1. "Child 44". Amazon.
  2. "Tom Rob Smith wins the 2008 CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger". Thecwa.co.uk. 2011-10-13. Retrieved 2012-02-27.
  3. "100 Books of the decade - Book Club News - Richard and Judy Book Club". Richardandjudy.co.uk. 2011-01-27. Retrieved 2012-02-27.
  4. "Waverton Good Read | FAQ". Btinternet.com. Retrieved 2012-02-27.
  5. "Desmond Elliott, The Desmond Elliott Prize 2009, Arlington Books, The Desmond Elliott Charitable Trust, The prize for new fiction, literary agent, publisher - Previous Winners - The 2008 Prize - The Shortlist - Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith". Desmondelliottprize.org. Retrieved 2012-02-27.
  6. 2009 winners (2010-12-15). "Culture Vulture - Galaxy Book Award winners". Culturevulture.uk.com. Retrieved 2012-02-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. Maslin, Janet (May 8, 2008). "Forget It, Comrade. This Is Moscow". The New York Times.
  8. Yager, Susanna (March 9, 2008). "A crime that officially doesn't exist". The Sunday Telegraph. London.
  9. Eastland, Sam. "CHILD 44 by Tom Rob Smith | Kirkus Book Reviews". Kirkusreviews.com. Retrieved 2012-02-27.
  10. Peter Guttridge (2 March 2008). "Interview: Tom Rob Smith". The Observer. London. Retrieved 2012-02-27.
  11. Koelb, Tadzio (March 13, 2011). "Churchill, Depression and a Talking Dog". The New York Times.
  12. Koelb, Tadzio (28 February 2009). "Review: Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith". The Guardian. London.
  13. Angus Macqueen (2008-04-12). "Review: Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2012-02-27.
  14. "Child 44 Movie". Themovieinsider.com. 2007-05-07. Retrieved 2012-02-27.
  15. Kit, Borys. "Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace in Talks for 'Child 44'". The Hollywood Reporter.
  16. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1014763/
  17. Opatrná, Anežka. "Ridley Scott dobývá Prahu!". Student Point (in Czech). Retrieved 29 August 2013. a tak bude od 10.6. do 20.9. v Praze, Ostravě nebo v Barrandovském studiu probíhat natáčení amerického velkofilmu.
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